Eying another MCA

Ghana is looking to qualify for the next phase of the Millennium Challenge account, regarding which discussions are already on-going.

Mr. Alan J. Patricof, Governor of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) council, told B&FT that the country has been re-selected and is now fully engaged in the process toward a new compact that will power and accelerate the economy’s development process.

“Discussions are on-going between the MCC and the Ghanaian counterparts which has a lot of involvement in the phase II of the project, and there is a general positive feeling to include Ghana for the second time due to the successful execution of the first phase,” Mr. Patricof disclosed.

Mr. Patricof explained that discussions are now at the preliminary stage, which will involve the public and the private sectors effectively communicating with the MCC to determine what they would like to be included in the second phase of the agreement.

He expressed delight for the successful implementation and execution of the first compact of US$547million which was exhausted on several infrastructure projects including 247 school blocks around the country, two ferries to facilitate transportation on the Volta Lake; and for many in here in Accra, the magnificent 14-kilometre N1 Highway that was handed over to the government on Wednesday.

With the signing of the Compact, MCC agreed to make available to Ghana a grant of half-a-billion dollars to enable the nation implement the programme and achieve the agreed objectives within the Compact term of five years.

The Compact entered into force on 15th February 2007 and ended on 16th February 2012 with the goal of reducing poverty through economic growth in the country, led by agricultural transformation.

The process toward execution of the compact programme envisaged the integrated and simultaneous development of three key activities: Agriculture Projects, Transportation Projects, and Rural Development Projects, with the objective of ensuring attainment of the Compact’s goals.

The two-fold objective of the programme is to increase the production and productivity of high-value cash and food staple crops, and also to enhance the competitiveness of country’s high-value cash and food crops in both the local and international markets.

Under its transportation project, the objective is to reduce transportation costs affecting agricultural commerce at the sub-regional and regional levels in the country in support of the agriculture project. Two transportation models, road and maritime, are targetted.

Besides the 357km of Feeder Roads which have been rehabilitated, MCC funds have also been applied to the upgrade of the N.1 Highway, construction of Trunk Roads and provision of Ferries, under the broader Transportation Project.

Residents in rural areas, who are predominantly farmers, have spotty and frequently poor access to basic community services such as potable water, community sanitation, schools at all levels and domestic electricity. This has a serious effect on productivity and has limited the country’s ability to realise the full potential of its agricultural resources.

For this reason, the rural services development project has been designed to address existing gaps and to strengthen the rural institutions that provide complementary services to communities in beneficiary Districts in a coordinated fashion.

MCC funds totalling US$77.72million have been used to support the following Project activities: Procurement Capacity Building, Community Services, and Financial Services.

Mr. Eson-Benjamin, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority, said: “As we draw down the curtain on the 5-year Programme, I would like to report that we have applied the entire US$547million and kept the programme whole and integrated despite two major re-scoping exercises in 2008 and 2009, necessitated by input-cost increases.

“We have certainly gained the respect and trust of the donor, the United States of America, represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

“We see all these as the dividend Ghana has gained from its commitment to implementing successfully a programme that demands results and leads to uplifting the lives of our less privileged relations, mainly the farmers, who have taken up the responsibility for feeding the nation but who, by and large, live in darkness with no access to clean water and sanitation facilities, no roads, schools, clinics, and organised markets for their crops.

“They are underserved by banks and rely primarily on only one rain-fed cropping season to support their livelihood. We call these potential business persons peasants, but they are the people whose collective successes and contributions will add to our GDP and maximise our country’s value as a middle-income economy. These smallholder farmers and their communities were the focus of the 5-year MCA Programme.”